It’s very easy to visit the Daintree Rainforest from Cairns and we would suggest you take a full day to see the oldest rainforest on Earth. You can self-drive to the Daintree from Cairns, or you can book a tour. This post covers your options for seeing the Daintree Rainforest and Daintree National Park as …
Port Douglas and Cairns
Port Douglas and Cairns lie about an hour apart on the coast of Far North Queensland. This part of Far North Queensland is a very popular holiday destination and most visitors staying in either Port Douglas, or Cairns, will visit the same local attractions, including The Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, Daintree Rainforest, and our beautiful beaches.
You’ll find a lot of content on our site about this part of the world because we’ve lived there for over a decade in total. You’ll find things to do, places to go and where to stay in the Port Douglas and Cairns area of Queensland.
We also include nearby places of interest and day trips in the region. This area was home to us as expats and as locals. Our archives and collected blog posts in the Far North of Australia (includes The Great Barrier Reef, Atherton Tablelands, Daintree, Cape Tribulation, and Cooktown)
Key posts and great information you’ll need for planning your Cairns or Port Douglas vacation, include:
- Things to do in Port Douglas
- Great Barrier Reef tours from Port Douglas
- Visiting the Daintree Rainforest,
- Things to do in Cairns
See only Port Douglas content here
If you’d like to see, and book, available activities and tours in the Cairns and Port Douglas region, you can do that here. This link opens in a new tab.
There are many options for Great Barrier Reef tours from Port Douglas Australia. Some trips are full day and a few are half day. The question I’m most asked about snorkelling on the reef, by readers, is this one. What Are The Best Reef Tours From Port Douglas For Families with Kids? In our opinion, …
Port Douglas is a pretty resort town in Far North Queensland Australia, roughly an hour north of Cairns, a much larger city. Cairns has the nearest international airport to Port Douglas and most visitors will arrive here for their Port Douglas stay. From the airport, either book the shuttle to Port or pick up a …
Port Douglas has some of the best snorkelling in the world, being perfectly located on the Coral Sea, a short boat ride away from the Great Barrier Reef. In Port Douglas you can go snorkelling from the beach (although there’s not much to see) or take various tours and boat trips to Low Isles, the …
Most of the biggest and best hotels in Port Douglas do not allow dogs to stay, other than assistance dogs, but a handful of hotels, camp sites and villas, will allow dogs and pets. We run through the best Port Douglas hotels with dogs. Some Port Douglas restaurants and pubs will also allow dogs on …
The best time to visit Cairns is broadly considered to be Australia’s cooler months, thus avoiding the wet season, tropical cyclones, and stinger season. If you’d prefer to avoid these natural phenomena, you should visit between May and October, these are the months many people consider “ideal” for visiting Cairns. However, you can visit Cairns …
Yes, you can snorkel off the beach in Port Douglas at any time of year. In summer “stinger season” there is a netted swimming enclosure on Four Mile Beach. Snorkelling at Port Douglas beach is something I’ve done many times. But read the rest of this post to find out about potential dangers and limitations. …
Port Douglas has just one beach, Four Mile Beach. Another site claims Port Douglas has multiple beaches, they’re a large, commercial site and are trying to cash in on the keyword “Port Douglas Beaches”. That keyword exists because Port Douglas has a hotel called “Beaches”. We live in Port Douglas. We live minutes from Port …
Port Douglas is pretty popular as a Christmas holiday destination. With Australian long summer school holidays falling over the Christmas period, many families choose to travel around Christmas time and into the early New Year. However, Christmas and summer time bring some of the hottest, most humid weather to the tropics. Port Douglas is just …
Cairns with kids. Fun things to do in Cairns with kids. In this post, we cover family-friendly things to do in Cairns for a family holiday or vacation. Both in Cairns, and near Cairns. Child-pleasing and family-friendly things to do in Cairns Australia. We already published our guide to things to do in Cairns, now …
Dining in Port Douglas is made all the better if you can find a restaurant with a good view. A delicious dinner of local seafood or a modern Australian dish is always enhanced by a wonderful sea view, don’t you think? We have a few Port Douglas restaurants to share with you, where you can …
There are many things to do in Port Douglas Australia and others near this pretty Australian resort town. Most visitors take trips to the Great Barrier Reef and Low Isles for snorkelling and scuba diving. Then there are natural attractions like the Daintree rainforest and Mossman Gorge to explore. This post lists the best activities, …
Port Douglas Queensland Australia is a beautiful, up-market resort town with easy access to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. It’s a dream destination for families with kids with many safe, beautiful, outdoor things to do. We’ve called it home since our kids were toddlers, babies really. If you’ve not had a chance to …
Yes, absolutely, you can swim in Port Douglas Australia in the sea from the beach, unless the lifeguards close the beach due to various unusual dangers. Beach closures aren’t common. Should you swim? There are a few things you need to know about safety, crocodiles, deadly jellyfish, nets (swimming enclosures), and lifeguards. This post is …
OK, so Port Douglas isn’t cheap. It’s a high-cost destination in the global travel scene but if you’re trying to stretch your budget there are a few things to do in Port Douglas for free. We’ll give you some ideas on free things to do below. If you’re planning a holiday this year we also …
There are several optiond in Port Douglas for Scuba Diving. You can learn to Scuba Dive in Port Douglas, take trial and introductory dives on The Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas, and there is more advanced and liveaboard scuba diving available nearby. This post covers options for scuba diving from Port Douglas Australia, a …
The best time to visit Port Douglas is of course when you can visit. Never let the weather put you off too much, but should you choose summer or winter, wet season or dry and should you factor in stinger season? A lot depends on which of the things to do in Port Douglas appeal …
What’s it live to live, sleep, eat, scuba and snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef? We’ve taken 2 liveaboard scuba diving trips on the reef now in Queensland Australia, both departing from Cairns. But what do divers and snorkellers do out there, what’s it like? It’s the ultimate dive experience and we did it as …
What’s it like to learn to scuba dive? Our post covers the basics of scuba certification and follows my son learning to dive in Cairns, Australia and on the Great Barrier Reef with Divers Den, a local dive school and scuba operator. Yes, kids can scuba dive too, but how old do they need to …
Cairns has numerous great attractions within easy reach of the city and CBD but there are also loads of things to do in the surrounding area. We’re local travel bloggers, we live just outside Cairns when we’re not travelling the world, so we really enjoyed putting this Cairns travel blog section together for you. In …
The only way to get from Cairns to Port Douglas is by road (unless you take a helicopter or charter a boat) and it’s officially one of the most beautiful drives in the world. The Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas hugs the coast offering stunning views of the Coral Sea. Along the …
Hiring a car in Port Douglas can be quick and easy but during the high season the availability of cars will be limited so book ahead if you want a particular type of car. Cars available range from budget small hatch backs to convertible, 4wds and people carriers. There are far more car hire companies …
To the north of Cairns and Port Douglas, you will find the oldest rainforest in the world, the Daintree Rainforest. Daintree Village, Daintree River, Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation are areas you will most certainly want to see during your time in Port Douglas and Far North Queensland. A look at everything the Daintree has …
If you’re looking for Great Barrier Reef Tours from Port Douglas, congratulations, you picked a great place from which to explore the reef. Port Douglas Australia is a stunning holiday town in Far North Queensland, home to beautiful 4 Mile Beach, close to Mossman Gorge and the Daintree Rainforest as well as the cooler Atherton …
Yes, you read that right we have a stinging tree in Queensland. It’s not just a bit “ouch” it’s more searing blinding agony that can persist for months. It’s not going to kill you with venom, but suicide could sound like a good option. Yes, it’s that bad. This post is about Gympie Gympie, the …
If you’re visiting the Cairns and Port Douglas region in summer, you absolutely must check out some of our freshwater swimming spots as well as the iconic Great Barrier Reef. These are where the locals go to cool off and some, like Mossman Gorge, receive large numbers of tourists too. Families visit these jungle swimming …
Are you thinking of visiting Port Douglas Australia? Good choice! Port Douglas is a beautiful part of the world and a top holiday destination. The town and region are rich in natural beauty, amazing wildlife and good hotels. There are dozens of diverse things to do in Port Douglas and surrounding area and we’ll try …
As long-term Port Douglas residents turned professional travellers, we know the local accommodation, from luxury hotels to private rentals, from resorts, to hostels, very well indeed. Readers often ask where to stay, which is the best hotel in Port Douglas, what hostel is most affordable, and what accommodation is best for families? They need recommendations …
This post is from our first day of travel, our first day as a nomadic family, not quite digital nomads yet, our travel blog wasn’t making enough money for us to call ourselves that. These early months of travel were funded by savings. We’d saved for a year, planned for a year, and now we …
This is my last week in Port Douglas, Queensland. Regular readers will know we are British expats and have been living in paradise here for almost six years. They will also know that it hasn’t always been paradise for me. I suffered badly with culture shock and found it hard to adjust. But goodbye Port Douglas, hello new adventure. …
Cairns, Australia, is one of the stepping off points for snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, but is there a beach in Cairns? No, actually, there’s not in Cairns City itself. There is a pretty esplanade walkway and a narrow strip of sand but mostly Cairns has a busy estuary and salt water crocodiles, big ones. …
Looking for a foodie treat in Cairns or this area of Far North Queensland? I’ve posted about London’s Borough Market before, well this is our local version when we’re at home in Port Douglas. Rusty’s Market Cairns is not to be missed! Rusty’s Market Rusty’s Market is fabulous, every type of fruit and veg you …
Yes, we have saltwater crocodiles in Queensland and yes, they can eat you. But mostly they don’t, which is good. Taking a boat trip to go crocodile spotting in Port Douglas is a lovely way to spend a few hours, I’ve taken the children many times and they always enjoy it. Each trip is different …
Want to know what’s top of my “Things to do in Port Douglas” list? Well, I always say that feeding George the groper is the most exciting thing that happens in Port Douglas. It’s certainly not something you should miss if you are in the top right-hand corner of Queensland or visiting Port for our beaches, rainforest, …
Healthy, Delicious Paleo Food In Cairns. We’ve just been on a mission to try the new cafe serving paleo food in Cairns. It’s an hour in the car from Port Douglas to Cairns, a long way to go for lunch, but I was really excited to try out the Paleo Cafe on Grafton St. Cairns. …
I’m no expert on gardening in the tropics, I’ve lived here for 5 years, in tropical Queensland, I’m a British expat in Australia, I’ve made plenty of gardening mistakes, but I’m starting to see some good results in the tropical food garden. Check out our tomato crop. Until a few years ago I lived in …
Honestly, I’m confused, my head is a mess. I spent forty-two years experiencing Christmas in winter. December, in my mind, will always be cold, now, suddenly, our tropical Christmas is in summer, it’s too weird! I find myself living in Port Douglas, Australia, in an alternate hemisphere, am I supposed to adjust to the idea …
We’ve just got back from Four Mile Beach Port Douglas, the total solar eclipse was stunning! Dragging the kids out of bed at 4am didn’t go down too well, but a Daintree ice cream and some celestial spectacularness soon perked them up. Part of Photo Friday on Delicious Baby. As a new blogger I’d do linkies …
I’d love to get a long-term volunteer position while we are traveling, but, it’s hard to get into. it’s often a voluntourism scam and it is expensive for the volunteer. For me, I don’t think it’s ever going to happen. Somebody else, with fewer family commitments and more cash will have the privilege of taking …
It’s not unusual to attract wildlife when you’re camping in Australia. Living in the tropics involves plenty of up-close wildlife interaction. We’ve had wallabies and possums visit our tent more that once. But did you know kookaburras like to snatch your food too? I’ve seen then snatch chicken legs direct from somebody’s hand down south, …